French found their second gear too late

The first act of this drama was an exaggerated dive from Florent Malouda which perhaps looked as if he got caught in a sandwich but Marco Materazzi definitely showed an intention to pull his leg away at the last moment. The Italian was to become a central figure in the match. At that moment the luck was with the "Wizard of Was" Zinédine Zidane who made a monkey out of Gianluigi Buffon with his penalty and the eagle-eyed assistant was spot on that it crossed the line.

Powerful full-back play by Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso kept the initiative with Italy despite conceding the goal. With Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira a little too deep to affect Andreas Pirlo, Simone Perrotta and Gennaro Gattuso, the Italians were able to take clean possession off their own back four. France needed Zidane to have the ball more but, with Gattuso on his shoulder, he did not seek nor command play. Strangely Francesco Totti was once again a peripheral figure with Makelele as his warder.

Zambrotta and Grosso continued their surges of the other evening because France gave the Italian midfield too much respect. But in the second half Italy could not get their full-backs forward as they lost their rhythm in midfield when France pushed tighter against them. Zidane and Thierry Henry came off their markers to receive the ball and turned to run at the defence.

France changed gear and Zidane got hold of the ball; Italy responded by making changes and their confidence floundered. The less impressive French left side of Eric Abidal and Malouda began to believe in themselves. It was as though Raymond Domenech had employed a half-time psychologist.

Alou Diarra coming on for Vieira did not unduly handicap France as Italy tried desperately to regain their rhythm. The events that followed were some of the most tragic in football. A rush of blood, a mad moment maybe, but Zidane's was an act of lunacy.

But France gathered, Makelele was splendid and William Gallas and Lilian Thuram were rocks at the back. Allez Les Bleus rang out around the stadium and the 10 men never withered, with the crowd unaware of Zidane's crime.

David Trezeguet's penalty miss was unfortunate but eight of the nine penalties were easily dispatched - were England watching? Both sets of tired players were under the utmost pressure but stayed focused to shoot fast and true.

No one who saw France v Switzerland early on and Italy v USA could have imagined a final between these two nations but they steadily improved as the tournament progressed. Unfortunately they did not give us the great final we prayed for but it was dramatic and became a battle of wills and fitness.